He stated he went back to the fair and searched for Erin until about 1 a.m. Combs said when he tried to start the car this time, it worked.

He told authorities he figured Erin returned to the fair. When he returned to the car, he said Erin was gone. He said he walked for about two hours, but was unable to find his friend’s house. He told Erin he would walk to a nearby friend’s house for help. In a statement to authorities in 1995, Dave Combs said they walked to his car, but the lights had been left on and it would not start. They drove to the Girdwood Forest Fair, and according to witness statements to the Alaska State Troopers, Erin was last seen at a beer garden with her date before they left around 6 p.m. Her sister, Stephanie, told Dateline that Erin left for her date on July 1 with David “Dave” Combs, a man whom Stephanie said Erin had met a few nights earlier at a local bar. Erin had moved to Alaska the year prior and was working as a nanny.

The 24-year-old has been missing ever since. Erin Marie Gilbert went on a first date to the Girdwood Forest Fair in Girdwood, Alaska on July 1, 1995.